Sometimes, scientists stumble upon an artifact that they can’t quite make sense of. Either it doesn’t fit in with the time period, or they can’t figure out what in the world it is or was used for, thus making it one of many mysterious ancient artifacts.

Antikythera Mechanism
This mysterious artifact almost looks like something from the future, but it’s actually at least 2,000 years old. This machine of sorts was found in the remains of a sunken Greek cargo ship. It’s made of bronze and contains an intricate system of 30 hand-cut gears.

Ancient Screw
As far as we know, screws, or at least the use of screw threads, date back to as early as 400 AD, but they may have been around long before humans were known to exist.

Ancient Hammer
Perhaps the alien that had a screw loose also lost his hammer somewhere along the line because scientists found one in an ancient rock in Texas. Like the screw, in order for the rock to form around the hammer in the manner it did, the hammer had to have existed before the rock.

Three-Pronged Plug
We move on from handy ancient people to those with electricity, or at least electrical plugs, before electricity was even a thing. In 1998 while hiking somewhere in the middle of nowhere in North America, John J Williams saw an electrical plug sticking out of the ground.

Thonis-Heracleion and Canopus
While the city of Thonis-Heracleion was mentioned in various ancient texts, people in the modern era assumed it was a mythological city because no one knew where in the world it was...that’s because it was hiding underwater.

The Genetic Disc
The Genetic Disc is one of the most-challenged ancient finds with many thinking it’s a hoax, but we’ll let you be the judge. This 27-centimeter, little-over-two-pound lydite disc was allegedly found by Professor Jamie Gutierrez somewhere in Colombia. That’s all that’s known about its past.

Ancient Nampa Figurine
While workers were drilling for water in 1889 in Nampa, Idaho, they found a tiny little clay figurine. While finding artifacts when digging into the ground isn’t anything unusual, the depth at which it was found is quite odd.

Shroud of Turin
Nothing gets people more excited than historical artifacts that claim to be from around the time of Jesus, especially when the artifact allegedly belonged to the son of God.

The Stonehenge
One of the world’s most debated mysteries is that of the Stonehenge monument, which is located in Wiltshire, England.

There you have it - some of the most mysterious ancient artifacts ever discovered. Are some of these mysterious artifacts hoaxes or true mysteries? Did an advanced ancient civilization exist, or are aliens to blame? What are your theories? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below!